Artecnica Brings Flatpack Design to Life, Including a Reusable Bag You Haven't Seen Yet

From canvas carryalls to candy-wrapper shoppers, when it comes to reusable bags, we're suffering from a massive case of seen-that-schlepped-that. Then Artecnica swooped in out of left field with its StretchBag, an inspired two-dimensional design that magically pops into a three-dimensional mesh tote capable of supporting up to 33 pounds.

Photo credit: Artecnica

Commissioned by advertising firm TBWA as a way to recycle its large-format billboards, the StretchBag is made from a single die-cut, sans glue or stitches, and creates very little waste in its construction.

Photo credit: Artecnica

But Artecnica's love affair with flatpack design didn't end there. Its 2009 collection, which we previewed at the New York International Gift Fair, also includes Future Flora, a trio of precision-etched, silver-plated steel sheets that bloom into dazzling pendant lamps. "Although I started by looking very closely at flowers," says designer Tord Boontje, "it became a projection from memory, to imagine shapes which are like flowers but not exactly, a new kind of species—a flower and light hybrid."

Photo credit: Artecnica

The Phrena, designed by Karl Zahn, is another flat light fixture that transforms into a three-dimensional shade. Cut from white recyclable Tyvek, the Phrena was inspired by the "simplicity of opening a book," with the pages working together to create a perfect symmetry."